The release of one of the summer’s most anticipated films, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, has been pushed back to 31 July as a result of the global pandemic. The $200 million film was, according to The New York Times, intended to “jump-start the pandemic-stricken movie business.”
Following months of cinema closures, Tenet was hailed as one of the guiding lights in the industry. Unlike its peers, the release date was never altered in spite of the pandemic. Yet now, with movie theatres still shut across the US and beyond, the decision has been made to delay the release date by some two weeks.
Nolan has been clear that he is against delaying the film’s release since the beginning. In The Washington Post, he wrote that cinemas were the “most affordable and democratic of our community gathering places” which he used to justify his request for a federal bailout from Congress.
He continued: “When this crisis passes, the need for collective human engagement, the need to live and love and laugh and cry together, will be more powerful than ever.”
According to the National Association of Theatre Owners: "Over these last months we have been keeping Warner Bros. closely informed of our work toward reopening our theatres in accordance with governmental health and safety requirements.”
Until then, it is believed that the first major film to test the waters will be Disney’s latest live action endeavour. In the words of The New York Times: “It’s now on you, “Mulan.””
